190 Countries Ranked to Find Best Places to Live

How do you determine where in the world is the best place to live the good life?

International Living magazine ranked 194 countries in nine different categories — cost of living, culture/leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety, and climate — to come up with some answers.

For the fifth year in a row, France takes first in the annual Quality of Life Index. “No surprise,” says the editors. “Its tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world’s best health care, and ‘bon vivant’ lifestyle.”

Australia comes in at #2, Switzerland at #3. Germany and New Zealand round out the top five, with the USA in seventh place. 24 countries placed higher than the United Kingdom.